


There Will Be No Deception

by predilection



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s04e15 Deception, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 19:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8297162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/predilection/pseuds/predilection
Summary: Fives things Obi-Wan could've done differently instead of going along with the Rako Hardeen mission in The Clone Wars episode "Deception".





	

**Author's Note:**

> Because this episode (and arc in general) made me want to write fix-it fic.

**I  
(refusal)**

Obi-Wan played his part, reacting to the shooter with surprise and shouting orders at Ahsoka and Anakin. He jumped onto the roof, taking cover. He knew that soon he was to walk out into the open, giving Hardeen a clean shot.

For a moment, he stood frozen, undecided, feeling torn between his duty as a Jedi and his duty as a friend and mentor. He looked down at the vial his hand -- at the vital suppressor he was supposed to take -- and frowned. Could he really do this to Anakin? To Ahsoka? To everyone else he loved? Could he really trick them all into thinking he was dead?

Was this mission worth the pain it would cause?

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and, making his decision, crushed the vital suppressor in his palm. 

He ignited his lightsaber before he stepped out onto the rooftop. He saw Hardeen's blast headed towards him, and instead of letting himself get hit by it, he deflected it back towards Hardeen, disabling his weapon. Anakin caught up with Hardeen moments later and the bounty hunter ended up in custody.

"Why was that guy shooting at us?" Anakin asked later.

Obi-Wan shrugged, hiding his discomfort by playing innocent. "I haven't the foggiest." 

 

**II  
(warning) **

Obi-Wan exited the briefing room and rubbed his hand over his face in dismay. The mission the Council had just assigned to him was morally suspect at best and reprehensible at worst. To add insult to injury, he was told that the success of the mission hinged on his ability to keep it a secret.

His thoughts turned to Anakin, who he would need to keep the mission a secret from. Obi-Wan knew that Anakin would be hurt the most by the deceit the mission entailed, and if there was one thing Obi-Wan was loathe to do, it was deliberately and unnecessarily harm his padawan.

For Anakin's sake, Obi-Wan took out his communicator. "Anakin," he called, letting the device connect them.

"What's up, Obi-Wan?" Anakin responded a moment later.

"Meet me in my quarters in ten minutes."

Anakin sensed his apprehension because he asked, "Everything okay?"

"I'll explain later," Obi-Wan promised.

"Roger that. See you in ten," Anakin replied before shutting down their connection.

It didn't matter to Obi-Wan that he was forbidden from telling anyone about his mission briefing. He was going to give Anakin the warning he rightfully deserved. 

 

**III  
(alternative) **

"I have a new plan. One that doesn't involve anyone pretending to die," Obi-Wan said. "The Council should assign myself, my padawan and his padawan to protect the Chancellor from this plot."

Mace waited a moment before asking, "What's the rest of this plan?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, smiling. "There isn't one. We have been sufficient protection for the Chancellor before and we'll be sufficient protection again."

"Adequate this plan is not," Yoda said in disapproval, but Obi-Wan didn't care. The original mission they had assigned him was downright disgraceful. 

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan asked, crossing his arms. "Because the way I see it, you don't have to hire a bounty hunter to assassinate me, and you don't have to explain to my padawan why you decided it was a good idea to make him think he lost his master." He raised his eyebrows at both Yoda and Mace. "Compared to your plan, I think mine sounds like a masterpiece."

 

**IV  
(guilt) **

When Anakin found Obi-Wan at the bar, wearing Hardeen's face and acting like a drunk, he shoved Obi-Wan against a wall. Anakin was obviously furious at Hardeen, but underneath his fury, Obi-Wan could see the grief etched into his features.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. Guilt bubbled up inside him, worse now than ever before. He had had second thoughts about this mission since the moment it was assigned to him, and even knowing what it would do to his loved ones, he had accepted it. Now, he hated himself for his decision.

He had no excuse for the pain he had caused, but he hoped it wasn't too late to start setting things right.

When Anakin let him go, Obi-Wan pretended to stumble. He fell forward towards Anakin, and in the split second it took Anakin to push him away in disgust, he slipped a data chip containing a note he had written into the food capsule slot on Anakin's belt. He knew Anakin would find it later, and that it would likely make him even more furious, but maybe, the overdue explanation would lessen his grief.

Maybe it would make it so that one day Obi-Wan could be forgiven.

 

**V  
(protest) **

Obi-Wan stared at Mace and Yoda in disbelief. They wanted him to knowingly deceive his loved ones into grieving for him so that, unbeknownst to them, their grief could be used to support a mission. It was one of the cruelest things he could imagine inflicting on the people who cared for him, and he was shocked that this idea came from the Council of all places. 

Unbidden, Obi-Wan's mind provided him images of what his pyre would look like -- of Ahsoka with tears streaming down her cheeks, Satine weeping with Padme, Cody's face ashen even as he stood at attention, Bant crying in Garren's arms, and Anakin... 

He suppressed the urge to physically recoil. 

It was Anakin's probable reaction that troubled him the most. He was Anakin's master, but also his best friend and brother. Obi-Wan knew that he was one of the few beings in the universe who Anakin loved and trusted completely. Obi-Wan also knew that Anakin's greatest fear was losing the few people he held dear. 

Obi-Wan's death would hurt Anakin in ways Obi-Wan did not want to even imagine, and if Anakin grieved for him only to learn later that it was all a trick, Obi-Wan was certain that such a deception would damage their relationship in ways that could never be repaired.

Mace and Yoda were still waiting for Obi-Wan's response. "No," he told them.

Mace raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"It means I refuse to take on this mission," Obi-Wan replied sternly.

"Explain you will," Yoda demanded.

Obi-Wan took a moment to consider all the different and colorful ways he could tell them just how upset he was at the Council for even considering this plan of action. Then he asked, "Were you planning to throw a funeral for me?"

Yoda nodded. "Yes. Necessary credibility it would lend."

"I know you would want Anakin and Ahsoka to attend, but did you plan on inviting my friends?" For the first time since this mission briefing began, Obi-Wan could hear his anger in his voice. "How about other Jedi? And the members of the 212th? Were they all to be told of my 'passing' so that you could use their reactions?"

Yoda frowned and his ears drooped. He looked up at Obi-Wan, and in his eyes Obi-Wan could see discomfort when he replied, "Yes."

Mace pinched the bridge of his nose, but he sighed like he finally understood the point Obi-Wan was making.

"Many people care about me a great deal. You're asking me to emotionally manipulate them -- to cause them great distress, no less -- all for the sake of a mission that, frankly, I feel could be completed without such duplicity!" Obi-Wan got louder and louder as he spoke and before he knew it, he was yelling. 

"For this mission to succeed, their reactions to your death would need to be genuine," Mace pointed out.

"So let Anakin and Ahsoka know about the mission, and have faith in their abilities to act grieved! Or better yet, select another Jedi for this mission, one who doesn't have ties like I do!" Obi-Wan crossed his arms, and felt like he was channeling his padawan when he repeated, "I will not accept this mission!"

Yoda resettled his hands on his gimer stick and sighed. "Put us in a difficult position you have. Defying the will of the Council you are."

Obi-Wan thought about the difficult position they wanted to put him in and, reining back his temper, said through clenched teeth, "I have always done what the Council has asked, but what you ask of me now, I will not do."

Obi-Wan had never openly disobeyed the Council before, at least not like this. He had hoped that they would've recognize the significance of his protests, and it frustrated him that they weren't even taking his objections seriously.

"This mission has been approved by the full Council," Mace reminded him. 

Obi-Wan glared at him. "I see no need for anyone to suffer the pain of grief for this mission, and if the Council views such suffering as a necessity, then I ask that the Council review their own ethical standards before proceeding." 

"It is not your job to critique the Council!" Mace snapped. 

"Enough!" Yoda yelled, tapping his gimer stick on the ground and cutting them both off. Yoda looked up at Obi-Wan, holding his gaze. His tone was calmer, but he sounded disappointed when he said, "Obi-Wan, a mission you have been assigned. Accept it you will or consequences you will face."

Obi-Wan met Yoda's eyes easily. If it meant sparing the people who cared about him from this ill-conceived deceit, he would gladly take any punishment the Council could throw at him. "I will _not_ accept this mission," Obi-Wan told him.

Yoda's frown deepened and he looked away from Obi-Wan when he said, "Dismissed, you are."

Obi-Wan bowed, more stiffly and shallowly than usual to illustrate his displeasure, and instead of leaving the briefing room immediately like protocol demanded, he hesitated and said, "What you have asked of me today goes against what we stand for as Jedi. I hope the Council comes to realize this."

He saw Mace's jaw clench, but before he or Yoda could say anything more, Obi-Wan turned away from them and walked out the door.


End file.
